CBHT Trauma-Informed Care 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary goal of trauma-informed care in a behavioral health setting?
- To cure the client of their trauma completely through evidence-based therapy
- To create an environment of safety, trust, and empowerment that supports healing (Correct answer)
- To document all traumatic events in the client's permanent medical record
- To ensure the client never discusses their trauma during the course of treatment
Correct answer: To create an environment of safety, trust, and empowerment that supports healing
The primary goal of trauma-informed care is to create an environment where clients feel safe, trusted, and empowered, which supports healing without requiring trauma disclosure.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes a trauma trigger?
- A scheduled appointment that reliably causes anxiety in a client
- A cue or stimulus that activates the nervous system's trauma response (Correct answer)
- A client's refusal to participate in group therapy sessions
- A medication side effect that causes emotional distress
Correct answer: A cue or stimulus that activates the nervous system's trauma response
A trauma trigger is any sensory cue (sight, sound, smell, touch, or situation) that activates the nervous system's stress response by reminding the person of a past traumatic event.
Question 3: How should a BHT respond when a client appears to be experiencing a flashback?
- Ask the client detailed questions about the traumatic event to help them process it
- Use grounding techniques to help orient the client to the present moment (Correct answer)
- Leave the client alone in a quiet room until the flashback passes naturally
- Restrain the client to prevent potential self-harm during the episode
Correct answer: Use grounding techniques to help orient the client to the present moment
Grounding techniques (such as orienting to the present environment, deep breathing, or sensory anchoring) help bring the client back to the present moment and reduce the intensity of a flashback.
Question 4: What is meant by 'retraumatization' in behavioral health settings?
- When a client voluntarily retells their trauma story during individual therapy
- When a client experiences a new traumatic event while enrolled in treatment
- When policies, procedures, or interactions inadvertently recreate the dynamics of the original trauma (Correct answer)
- When a client's trauma symptoms temporarily worsen before beginning to improve
Correct answer: When policies, procedures, or interactions inadvertently recreate the dynamics of the original trauma
Retraumatization occurs when aspects of the treatment environment or provider interactions replicate dynamics from the original trauma, such as loss of control, powerlessness, or fear.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a trauma-informed practice in a behavioral health setting?
- Using seclusion rooms as a first-line response to client agitation
- Explaining all procedures to clients before performing them and seeking their consent (Correct answer)
- Requiring clients to share their full trauma history in group settings
- Using physical restraints when clients become emotionally dysregulated
Correct answer: Explaining all procedures to clients before performing them and seeking their consent
Explaining procedures and obtaining consent supports transparency and gives clients a sense of control, both of which are central to trauma-informed practice.
Question 6: The fight, flight, or freeze response in trauma is primarily mediated by which part of the nervous system?
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- Central nervous system's cortical regions
- Sympathetic nervous system (Correct answer)
- Peripheral somatic nervous system
Correct answer: Sympathetic nervous system
The fight, flight, or freeze response is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system, which activates the body's stress response in the presence of perceived threat.
Question 7: What does it mean to 'assume trauma' in a trauma-informed care framework?
- To diagnose every client with PTSD upon admission to the program
- To assume that clients are exaggerating their reported symptoms
- To operate from the assumption that any person served may have a trauma history (Correct answer)
- To avoid discussing trauma-related topics with all clients to prevent distress
Correct answer: To operate from the assumption that any person served may have a trauma history
'Assuming trauma' means operating from the premise that any client may have a trauma history, which guides all interactions to be universally sensitive and non-retraumatizing.
CBHT Trauma-Informed Care 2
What is the primary goal of trauma-informed care in a behavioral health setting?